Sight Unseen- Of Boys and Cats drabbles
by Sky Blue Hunter's Soul
Summary: A collection of drabbles in connection with my other fic, Of Boys and Cats. A look at what happens between chapters and amongst the pairings not focused on in the main fic... please note there will be some M-rated things sprinkled in, clearly labeled! SeiGou, Sugitori, Reigisa and Marinka!
1. Presents- NSFW

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKO-CHAAAAAAN!** Your boyfriends have a present for you~! This one's** NSFW!**  
...I'm a bad person for starting this series off with smut but OOPS SORRY. Feel free to skip it!

**~Presents~  
**The day had been exhausting but in the pleasant way. Presents and wrapping paper and a delicious cake and boisterous friends gone, Makoto was left to flop on Rin's couch and sigh his relief.

"Tired?" Rin asked softly as he settled on the edge of the couch and began to massage broad shoulders.

"Hmm. In a good way. Today was fun."

This relationship of theirs was still in its infancy, only two weeks into this tenuous test, and tension occasionally ran tight still.  
Tonight he could feel an undercurrent of it belied by Rin's gentle ministrations and it made him roll his shoulders as if to shrug it off.

"It wasn't bad," the redhead hedged.

Haru snorted and Makoto chuckled.

"Speak your mind for once, would you Rin?"

It was Haru's thought and his own and Rin flushed. "Sh-shut up. It was fun, okay?"

Makoto reached back and caught one of the redhead's kneading hands to bring it to his lips. "It was good to see you smile like that."

Rin snatched his hand back and hopped off the arm of the couch. Another chuckle shook his lover and Makoto pressed his face into the side of the couch to muffle it.  
Haru took his place, leaning his elbows on the couch and kissing the brunette when Makoto lifted his head.

"Makoto..."

He hummed back, not willing to open his eyes.

"Can Rin and I give you the other present now?"

Green eyes blinked open. "Other present?"

Haru looked away quickly. "It's from Rin and I."

He didn't know all the new signs yet, didn't know how everything really one-hundred-percent fit together, so he couldn't tell that their careful hesitance was a sign.  
He allowed himself to be led up to the bedroom, realizing too late what the destination was and what his present was likely to be.

* * *

"H-Haru- _Haru!_ _Ahhh_, Haru-!"

The black-haired teen undulated atop the birthday boy, driving himself down and lifting slowly, panting for breath.  
Rin crouched between Makoto's parted thighs, his fingers buried deep inside the twitching brunette and stroking the sensitive nerves he'd found there, anticipation making him nervous.  
Makoto tossed his head side to side, chest heaving and back arching, moaning his lover's names.

"Rrr-in_nnn_..."

"Enjoying your present, Makoto?"

The redhead's breathless tone made Makoto's eyes roll back because his own selfish needs were one thing; hearing his lovers as desperate as he was morphed into a different matter entirely.  
He opened his legs a bit wider and Haru sunk even further down and Rin's next rub over his prostate became forceful.

_Oh god._ "Har- Rin!" It came out in a moan and their names slurred together.

Haru whimpered and Makoto knew that well enough at least. Haru was about to come.

He reached up for the shoulders just out of reach. "Haru."

Haru whined his name and leaned down. Makoto grabbed him and pulled his lover to his chest. Rin pulled his fingers free and suddenly was pushing Haru's hips down for Makoto to thrust up.  
Haru met a quick end after that with a couple of sharp cries and his nails digging into the meat of the brunette's shoulders.  
They kissed in Haru's afterglow, Rin's hands running over Haru's sweaty-soft skin and Makoto's heaving chest, murmuring words of what they had a sense were romantic things in English.  
Haru shifted and slowly levered himself off Makoto's thick and still-aching length, reaching for the bottle of water by the bedside (Haru would otherwise complain about losing moisture, as Rin had seen firsthand in the beginning of their relationship), and Rin hurried to take his place.

Green eyes were deep and hungry as Rin straddled his boyfriend, and one open-mouthed kiss later, the redhead was sinking onto his lover's erection with a lick of his lips.

Makoto caught Rin's hand and entwined their fingers. "Nnn- Rin- I'm not going to last much longer..."

"Long enough," the younger replied with a coy smile.

He braced himself with his free hand on Makoto's chest, smearing the white leftover from Haruka's climax, and began his own intense rhythm.  
Makoto grunted at the first harsh meeting of their hips, sure that Rin's pale skin would bruise with the force, but the redhead was undeterred by the pain, smiling through it and rolling his hips.

"It's worth if it Makoto feels good," Haru murmured, newly hydrated and eager for more skin-on-skin contact.

Makoto shuddered as chilly hands glided across his chest, Haru teasingly tweaking nipples and rolling them between his fingers, caressing all of the brunette's most sensitive spots.

"_Haru-!_ Rin, _shit_, Rin-!"

A smooth curl of those slender hips and Makoto couldn't take it anymore.

The hand not held in Rin's grasped the redhead's waist and one powerful thrust up made Rin moan.  
"_Fuck_, Makoto, like that- fuck me like _that_..."

Hazy emerald eyes caught sapphire and Haru pressed a hungry kiss to the birthday boy's lips before he shuffled behind Rin and held the redhead down.  
Rin tossed his head back as the brunette took over their rhythm, letting it fall to the black-haired boy's shoulder, and groaned.  
A litany of the lewdest sounds Makoto had ever had the pleasure of hearing slipped from Rin's mouth as he rode their boyfriend. Haru brought his hands to Rin's leaking length and he began to pump the youngest in time with Makoto's rough thrusts, his timing flawless as he again caught the brunette's green gaze.  
Makoto could feel every quiver of Rin's body, hear every cry deep in his heart, stare at the sight of the youngest caught between his two lovers forever.

"Rin..." He moaned finally, caught off-guard by the strength of impending orgasm, and his empty hand joined Haru's in holding the redhead flush.

Rin yelped and twisted, writhing in Haru's hold, as Makoto's climax filled him. Rocking his hips, desperate for his own release, Rin mewled and keened and begged for his own gratification and with only a few shallow thrusts and quick jerks he followed his lovers into their post-orgasm bliss.  
Haru held him steady as Rin wilted and the oldest carefully arranged the three of them so they held Makoto in the middle. Today's tension, at least, was gone from their bodies and the bond between them.

"Happy birthday, Mako." Haruka murmured, nuzzling into the crook of the brunette's neck.

"I love you." Rin added sleepily.

"I think this is my favorite birthday present."

Rin snorted but was too exhausted to smack the brunette. Haru kindly reached across their boyfriend's broad chest and grabbed Rin's fist to drop it on Makoto's sternum for the redhead.

"Good 'nuff," Rin mumbled, snuggling up to the brunette's side.

Makoto tried to fight his laugh and failed. "Good night you two."


	2. Envy

I give you... FLUFF! SeiGou is up next, followed by my personal faaavorite, the Sugitori. I've wanted you guys to have the other two for ages, so I'm glad I can finally give it to you~

**~Envy~**  
Nagisa slurped his strawberry milk and tried to pretend he wasn't mad.

But the longer Shiemi-san talked and flirted with Rei the more distraught Nagisa became. Yes, he and Rei were together. No, of course they hadn't come out to their classmates. But none of that stopped Nagisa from wanting to be able to flirt with his boyfriend as easily as Shiemi-san. Irritable, he tossed his now-emptied milk box onto his desk only for it to bounce and (naturally, why not?) land next to the chatting pair. That paused their talk and they both looked at him, confused and curious. Nagisa hopped out of his seat with one of his biggest smiles and came to fetch his discarded drink.

"Sorry, sorry! I was wondering if I could skip it over desks into the trash can!" It was probably one of his lamest excuses ever but he laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Guess not! Sorry to interrupt!"

The last came out a little harsher than he meant it to but Shiemi-san didn't seem to notice, giggling and saying "Nagisa-kun is so silly! Isn't he, Rei-kun?"

Jealousy boiled in the blonde's stomach at the sound of his boyfriend's name from someone else's lips but before he could be too upset he realized the blue-haired boy was staring at him. Purple eyes had narrowed sharply and not for the first time he got the uncomfortable sense Rei could see right through him.

"Is everything all right, Nagisa-kun? You seem tense."

And there he went, laying bare his real feelings.

But he grinned, cocking his head, and sunnily said "Nope, nothing's wrong with me!"

But Rei knew better.

* * *

They got to the roof first, before Makoto and Haruka, and Rei took the opportunity to try and talk to his boyfriend.

"Nagisa, please be honest. What's wrong?"

The blonde rummaged in his bag for his favorite bread, desperate to keep his eyes off Rei's. "Nothing at all, Rei-chan!"

"I know you better than that." Hesitantly, Nagisa looked up and smiled at the sight of a flustered Rei pushing his glasses up. "I'm your boyfriend, after all."

And that killed his mood.

He held the wrapped package of bread in front of him and dug his head into Rei's chest. "Are you?" He whispered softly.

"Wh- of course I am! I confessed to you, didn't I?"

The blonde burst into giggles despite his bad mood just remembering that 'confession'. "I couldn't even understand you!"

He didn't have to look to know his boyfriend was turning scarlet. "W-well that's- that's because I- had really wanted to ask you out and you made it very difficult-"

Nagisa squawked. "Ehhhh?! How did I make it difficult? Rei-chan is mean!" And he began rubbing his head against the younger boy's sternum.

"Well I mean... You were always so beautiful and I didn't know if you were even interested and then Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai told us- Rin-san too- about them and when I saw you didn't mind that they were... were men with other men, I thought I had a chance but you were so... so beautiful and-"

Nagisa put an end to Rei's hurried explanation with a quiet giggle. "And in the end I had to piece together what you meant and say it myself."

Rei shifted and pink eyes peeked up to see him looking away, his whole face alight with red, all the way to the tips of his ears. For a second he just looked and then it clicked; Rei really did like only him.

Nagisa sighed. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan. I'm just... kinda jealous. Rei-chan's popular and girls keep talking to you and flirting with you and asking you out and... I can't do any of that."

Rei was silent a moment before he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. "Nagisa, could I persuade you to come on a date with me? We've always gone on group dates with Makoto-senpai, Haruka-senpai, and Rin-san before, never on our own. W-would you like to?"

Pink eyes widened- a date, as in a _real date_, with hand-holding and treats and kissing each other in public (okay, only on the cheek though) and hugging?- and he gave a little cheer, throwing his arms around Rei's middle and burying his nose in his boyfriend's chest.

"I'd love to!"

* * *

Nagisa stared at the object in front of him, bending this way and that to try and see of it would change, and then rocked back on his heels.

"Hey, Rei-chan, what is this?"

The blue-haired boy looked very thrilled with himself as he held the list up for the blonde to inspect. "It's my list of the best date sites in our region, as I researched personally last night!"

Smiling despite his confusion Nagisa laughed and said "Okay! But..." And he clasped his chin in a thoughtful pose, "I don't know what these places are like just by the names, you know."

"Not a problem!" The younger boy exclaimed, whipping a thick sheaf of papers out of his backpack and handing them to the dumbstruck blonde. "Here is an annotated compendium of those locations. Please choose which one you would prefer!"

Wide pink eyes stared at the hefty stack in his hands- it had to be two inches thick, and was _double-sided_?! According to the table of contents (it had a _table of contents?!_) it was divided into three sections: **Brief Overview**, **Statistical Percentage of Human Traffic Per Year**, and then **Graphs of the Statistical Percentage of Human Traffic Per Year**. After a long moment of dumbfounded staring he met his boyfriend's proud gaze and turned his incredulous wince into a smile.

"Okay Rei-chan! I'll make sure to check them over!"

In reality that night Nagisa reverently placed the pad of paper in his desk drawer. Even if he wouldn't- couldn't- read all of that he was still honored and beyond happy that Rei had gone through so much work for his sake. Still smiling to himself he booted up his laptop and did some research on his own.  
There was a museum not far from Iwatobi that seemed like it had plenty of interesting exhibits- art and the history of art plus a glass-blowing shop in one section and a dinosaur themed section elsewhere, not to mention plenty of exhibits on Japanese history- which meant Nagisa should be able to keep himself from being too bored and Rei would be on cloud nine, probably.  
He checked quickly- the place was listed on Rei's manuscript- and let out a heavy sigh.

"Maybe Rei-chan and I aren't meant for each other..." He muttered aloud, just to finally voice that worry that had always gnawed at his gut.

Their interests, their ideas of fun, were so far apart. Rei would probably never be comfortable at an amusement park while Nagisa would be bored by a museum. Such little discrepancies had never seemed so large as they did when Nagisa was really made aware of them.  
But, technically, Rei had also picked this place out. So maybe it would be okay.

* * *

The next day he'd informed Rei of his decision and though Rei looked at him critically, clearly not believing it had been his first choice, the blue-haired boy agreed and through a course of text messages meticulously set up the time and a schedule for them.  
Nagisa had just giggled to himself because as soon as they got there he was probably just going to drag Rei around willy-nilly anyway.  
Despite his worry about his relationship with the younger boy Nagisa went to bed that night filled with an odd mixture of eagerness and anxiety. He laid under the covers for a while, comforter drawn up to his eyes, and stared at the penguin plushie in the corner of his room. His thoughts were whirring around so fast in his head that he didn't think he'd ever be able to sleep and he wondered if this was how Rei had been feeling the night before the relay...  
Slowly the buzz of his thoughts crawled to a stop and Nagisa fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Nagisa tore out of his house before he could deal with any questions from his mother or siblings. They were too nosey and prying for their own good, and even if his mother meant well he knew she'd spill to Ryoko and Yayoi and Nagisa couldn't bear the torment today. Not today.

Not before his date with Rei.

His date with Rei.

All his misgivings from the previous night had been washed away by his pure excited anticipation. A whole day spent with Rei doing things couples did! It sounded like a dream come true. Exiting the train at his boyfriend's stop, Nagisa all but skipped- and then for a few minutes in the middle of the walk when no one would see he did give in to the urge- to Rei's apartment building.  
He knocked a sprightly sequence on the door and grinned, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Rei answered the door with a warm smile on his face that melted the blonde's heart. "Nagisa-kun."

"Good morning Rei-chan!" Nagisa cheered.

Despite his want to throw his arms around the blue-haired boy's neck and hug him he knew to respect Rei's privacy rules... For now.  
Rei said a quick goodbye to his parents and grabbed a light coat, just in case, as he came outside.

"It's a nice day," he observed while they descended the stairs.

"Yep! Perfect day for a date!" Nagisa chirped.

"Indeed." Rei paused at the foot of the staircase. "Would you prefer I pull up a list of outdoor venues instead?"

Nagisa laughed and bounced over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Rei's right arm and resting his cheek on the younger boy's shoulder. "Nah. It'll be great no matter where we go." He looked up with shining eyes and added "Because I'm with you."

Rei had already been flushed from the sudden capture of his limb but to see that face... He burned scarlet and looked away, adjusting his glasses with his free hand.

Nagisa giggled brightly and relented to just holding his boyfriend's hand.  
"Let's _gooo_!" He exclaimed, pointing to the distance.

"...the train station is the other direction."

Immediately Nagisa turned around and buried his head in Rei's chest, shaking it unhappily back and forth. "Rei-chan you're no fun!"

Rei started. "I- wh- ah, really? I-I'm not?"

The blonde chuckled and pulled back to smile. "No, Rei-chan's the best."

Rei's expression switched from consternation to blushing faster than was probably healthy.

"W-well, as long as _you_ think so..." He mumbled.

"I do! Now let's not miss the train!"

* * *

Nagisa actually found himself very interested in the exhibits, bouncing from one to another almost faster than Rei could keep up. However, he liked it when Rei was at his side because of course the younger boy knew plenty about everything; Nagisa was sure he'd probably done more research on the place once Nagisa had told him what he'd decided. The blonde didn't mind a bit though. It meant Rei was talking to him and only him and it blew the envy he'd been feeling just the other day away entirely. He had Rei all to himself and he was so happy about it that he kept blanking on the placards to listen only to his boyfriend's voice.

"That piece is from the Meiji era-"

_"The four o'clock show will be starting in a half hour in the eastern pavilion."_

Rei cast the ceiling an irritated glower for interrupting his description but Nagisa lit up.

"Rei-chan! I wanted to go see that! Can we?"

Rei spluttered, explanation of the exhibit they stood next to lost, and he nodded.

"I suggest we go soon if we want good seats-" he said as he pushed his glasses back into position.

Nagisa grabbed his arm in a vice-grip and started dragging his boyfriend to the eastern pavilion.

"-to the show." Rei finished lamely as he let himself be manhandled.

* * *

Nagisa sat them down in the front row- which was uncomfortably warm already- and sighed blissfully, leaning against the taller boy.

"Rei-chan's comfortable," he mumbled after a moment.

"Nagisa-kun..." Rei said warningly, keeping an eye on the man in front of the oven.

The blonde giggled. "I know!"  
Despite that he pressed a quick kiss to the blue-haired boy's cheek before sitting up straight.

"We're here fifteen minutes early." Rei complained stiffly.

"Wanna play a game or something then?" Nagisa asked, kicking his feet leisurely.

The man at the oven gave them a dark look at the mention of games and so Nagisa ducked his head. Rei directed a glare at the man before he could stop himself- no one should depress his boyfriend- and curled his hand over the blonde's between them. Nagisa beamed at him and he had to look away, face burning, because Nagisa's smile was practically a deadly weapon for the blue-haired teen.

Twenty minutes later, Nagisa was completely entranced by the heated glass and the methods and the amazing colors of all the work.

"Hey hey, Rei-chan look! Isn't it amazing? Woooow!"

Rei glanced down at the excited blonde and couldn't help the warm smile that bloomed on his face. Without thinking, and certainly not thinking of public repercussions, he slid an arm around his boyfriend's waist.

"Yes, it is indeed."

The blonde's head whipped around and magenta eyes widened at him before Nagisa broke into a heartbreakingly perfect grin.

* * *

While Nagisa perused the map to find out where he wanted to head next at Rei's insistence, Rei wandered over to the souvenir shop of the glass pavilion. Everything was absolutely beautiful- and the carefully crafted glass butterflies in their many colors were astounding- but the second he saw it he knew he had to have it. He knew without a doubt that Nagisa would love it. It was pricey but he could care less, enthused about the idea of giving his boyfriend a gift.

He glanced back at the blonde- cheerfully asking a middle-aged woman her opinion on where he should go before he left- and snuck over to the register to pay for his small present. He politely denied the gift wrap and the cashier shrugged and simply handed it back.  
Rei took a moment to stare at the craftsmanship again and suddenly a call of "Rei-chan!" made him jump.  
He shoved his hands in his pockets, curling his fingers protectively over the object, and turned to see Nagisa blithely waving him over. His heart was still pounding at having almost been caught and he was mortified by the thought of Nagisa finding out before he could give him the gift... beautifully.

"Tamura-san said we should go see the-"

"O-of course! Let's go do that!"

"Eh? But I didn't even finish-"

"Let's just go!" Rei squawked as he blushed scarlet.

* * *

He went home with Nagisa, simply to spend as much time with the bubbly blonde as he could.  
Nagisa launched himself off the train and whirled to grin at his boyfriend.

"Rei-chan I think that was the best day ever!"

Rei hummed his agreement as they began the walk to Nagisa's home, slipping the glass penguin out of his sweaty palm and fingering it in his pocket. When was the best time to give his boyfriend the gift? What was the best, most beautiful way? How should he word the explanation for the gift? _Why in heaven hadn't he considered any of this on the ride back to Nagisa's stop?!_

"You know what would've made it better?"

Rei's heart sunk. He knew it, Nagisa had picked that location to cater to him and had been phenomenally bored all day. Nagisa had just been putting on an act for Rei's sake. How could he properly apologize for destroying their date? The gift would probably be seen as pity now... But all day, in all honesty, Rei hadn't even found the exhibits and shows interesting. He'd been completely focused on Nagisa and how happy and vibrant his boyfriend was.

_I'm a terrible boyfriend if I thought he was actually happy..._

"Rei-chan?"

The blue-haired boy jumped and refocused on the real world and not his miserable thoughts.

"Did you hear me?"

Time to bite the bullet and apologize. "Yes, Nagisa-kun, and I have to say-"

"Pictures!"

Rei's mouth hung open, eyes wide, and his brain finally coughed up an "Eh..?"

"Pictures would've been great! Something to remember the day by. But I totally forgot my phone and I didn't even think of my camera. Sorry!"

Rei blushed. So... Nagisa wasn't mad? Just upset he didn't have anything to remember the day by?  
He felt the glass penguin in his pocket and inspiration hit like a lightning bolt.

"N-Nagisa-kun!"

Pink eyes were wide, sparkling under the streetlamp, and the blonde tilted his head curiously. "What is it?"

"The truth is! That I did, um, get something!" Rei realized he was almost shouting the words out of pure nervousness and forced himself to take a couple deep breaths.

Nagisa had gone very still, still enough that Rei pretending he could hear the older boy's sprightly heartbeat.  
"You... got something?"

Recovered, Rei curved his hand around the small penguin. What if it wasn't good enough..?

"Yes. I did. And I hope you like it..."

Flushing and wishing he could push his glasses up to try and hide it, he pulled his hand from his pocket and showed the blonde the little glass statuette.

A minute passed with Nagisa staring at the little penguin in his boyfriend's hand, wide-eyed, and Rei started to regret.  
_Definitely too small. I knew I should've tried to get the bigger one but this one was so symmetrical and beautiful so I thought..._

It looked so tiny in his hand, but then paler fingers encircled it and Nagisa brought it close to his nose to really examine it with reverent pink eyes.  
Nervous, Rei jammed his hands back into his pockets and refused to look up.

"You got this for me?"  
The blonde sounded on the verge of tears and muffling a horrified yelp Rei's head snapped up.

"Yes! Um, because- well it's a penguin and- i-if you don't like it I'm sure I can return it-"

Suddenly he was bearing the full weight of one Hazuki Nagisa. The smaller boy had thrown his arms around Rei's neck and was hanging on tightly, toes just barely brushing the ground as he joyfully squeezed the life out of his boyfriend.

Out of nothing less than instinct and habit Rei wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist. "Nagisa! What-?"

"I love it! I love it and I love you and you're just the absolute best, Rei-chan!"

Oh.

_Ohhh._

A bubble of elation rose in the blue-haired boy's chest and he hugged his little boyfriend close. "I'm glad."

Nagisa pulled back, standing on tiptoes on solid ground again, and kissed Rei.  
Not a deep kiss; just a sweet peck followed by a giggle and another crushing hug (Nagisa was deceptively powerful and Rei, as well as the rest of the team and Rin, had learned that from experience) under the streetlight.

"Thanks so much, Rei-chan. I'm really... really _really_ happy."

"Then so am I."

The glass penguin sat on the blonde's bedside table in the perfect middle of all his other precious things and arranged so that he would see it every morning when he woke up.

* * *

Ugh writing Nagisa is hard for me. I think he's too happy...


	3. Intimacy- NSFW

**NSFW** again! But it's a little more softcore I guess, and for the love of god it's tooth-rotting cute. Go ahead. You know you wanna.  
I wanted blushing virgins and, well, my god. I got them. I'm still really really in love with this chapter and I don't even know why. I just know this is _so damn adorable. _Oh for for shits and giggles someone count how many hyphens I used.

**~Intimacy~**  
Kenji had already forgotten the name of the romantic comedy he'd rented in favor of gliding his fingertips up and down a ticklish Aiichirou's side.

"Stoppit!" The silver-haired teen shrieked for the sixth time, lightly smacking his boyfriend's (admittedly firm) chest.

"But you're so cute," the brunette mock-pouted, not at all sorry to be touching his boyfriend.

They were wrapped up on the couch in his room, the only illumination the crackling fireplace, making Aiichirou's silver hair glow a beautiful combination of gold and red.

"If I'm cute you're adorable," the older boy grumbled.

"I don't think so," the brunette growled playfully, pulling his sweetheart close. "I'm way too manly for that."

"No way! You're def-"  
Kenji kissed the older boy and Aiichirou just melted into his embrace.

"No fair," the silver-haired teen whined in a bare whisper.

"I still won," the brunette teased, sliding his hands further down toward-  
Aiichirou jumped and straightened up, fear dancing in expressive pale blue eyes, and Kenji kicked himself for triggering him.

"Aiichirou, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"  
He hated himself for causing the older boy to tremble like he was- he could feel the vibrations through every place they touched.

"N-no..." Aiichirou said quietly, shaking his head and mussing straight gray hair. "I- I shouldn't be so touchy."

"After _that_?!" The younger boy squawked. "Nono, I need to remember to give you space!"

Tears started to glimmer in the silver-haired boy's sky-colored eyes and the brunette felt his heart crack. "I hate that I'm the one holding us back."

"No, it's all right!" Kenji exclaimed, pulling Aiichirou down and kissing the silver-haired boy's forehead. "I understand. With what happened to you..."

Aiichirou tensed in his arms at the bare mention and Kenji was quick to squeeze his boyfriend to him.  
"...with what happened to you I'm not ever going to complain. Just... remember I love you, okay?"

The older boy nuzzled into his boyfriend's chest. "I'm so happy you're still here for me after all that."

"I love you too much to leave you," Kenji replied matter-of-factedly, resting his chin on the top of Aiichirou's head.

It took some effort and a few minutes but they refocused on the movie. Aiichirou's heart nearly burst with love when Kenji started absentmindedly trailing his fingers up and down his side again.

* * *

In the middle of the sweetest part of the movie Kenji became abruptly aware of the light blue gaze boring into his very soul.

He hesitantly met it, unused to the intensity of that stare. "Ai?" He whispered, brushing his knuckles over the silver-haired boy's cheek.

"I love you."

The brunette turned vivid red. "I-I know you do. But what's..?"

"Do you want to?"

Kenji's eyes widened, somehow blushing even darker. "A-A-Ai! What-? Where did this come from all of a sudden?"

"I want to stop being afraid," Aiichirou said softly, placing his hand flat over the brunette's racing heart. "And maybe to do that, I should- we should-"

Kenji held his boyfriend close. "Oh, Ai, no. Don't do this because of what happened with your dad. Don't."

Aiichirou smiled suddenly, his brilliant smile that made Kenji's heart do funny things, and said "It's not that. N-not really. It's that I really do... I really do want to try."

Golden eyes softened and Kenji chuckled. "Aiichirou..."

The silver-haired boy brushed noses with his boyfriend. "Kenji?" He giggled.

The brunette cupped the older boy's face and kissed him. Aiichirou sighed and wrapped his arms around the brunette's neck.  
Kenji's hands started to roam and Aiichirou didn't stop him. He trembled and brought a quick halt to the younger boy's ministrations but with a quiet moan assured him he '_was fine, please, more-_'  
The brunette's hands followed every curve of the silver-haired boy's body- the inward dip of his lower back, the rise of his narrow chest, the swell of his rear- and Aiichirou brokered a tiny space between them with a startled gasp.

"Too fast?" Kenji asked, flushing with embarrassment.

"A little," Aiichirou whispered back. "Kiss me?"

The brunette was happy to oblige that, mouths meeting and tongues brushing firmly, hands traveling back to the safer region of the small of the silver-haired boy's back.  
He pressed down and swallowed heavily at the hardness that came to rest on his stomach.

"Ai..." Kenji groaned.

"Um... S-should I t-take off my shirt..?"

The younger gulped. "I-if you, um, I guess, if you want to."

Aiichirou's cheeks pinked and he sat up, peeling off his t-shirt, and he tossed it aside. The silver-haired boy half-smiled down at his boyfriend and Kenji cocked his head. Still pressing his hand to the small of the older boy's back he gently pushed and with a quiet giggle Aiichirou leaned down to kiss him again. Kenji stroked the slope of his boyfriend's spine and Aiichirou slid his hands into shaggy umber hair as their lips met, parted, met again.

"Kenji-" Aiichirou murmured once. "Ken, I-"

"I know," the brunette replied in a strained voice.  
The younger was surprised by how quickly he'd gotten hard; alone he'd never had this easy a time. Something about Aiichirou was just... special.

The silver-haired boy ground against him out of nowhere and Kenji's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Both members of the couple squeaked in embarrassment and Aiichirou sat up quickly, hands flying to cover his darkening flush. "Kenji! I'm sorry!"

"N-no, I- Um. It's m-my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"Nono, that was definitely my fault! I d-don't even know what happened!"

His face felt like it was burning but Kenji softly said "I liked it though."

Aiichirou's shoulders slumped and he giggled a bit. "It did feel good, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"I... I could try it again. If you, um. If you want me to."

Kenji tried not to nod _too_ enthusiastically. "Yeah. It- it felt really good."

Biting his lip Aiichirou carefully rocked his hips.

The friction of their awakening arousal- new to them both- made Kenji gasp and Aiichirou give a low moan.  
The silver-haired boy all but shrieked, clamping a hand over his mouth, turning tomato red. Kenji just gaped up at his boyfriend, reeling after that uninhibited sound from the older boy.

Then it caught up to him, too, and his face heated up.  
"Oh wow, _Ai_-"

"That was terrible!" The older boy squeaked between his fingers.

"Um. Actually, I... I kinda liked it."

The silver-haired boy hesitantly dropped his hands back to Kenji's shoulders. "Really?"

"Yeah," the brunette replied breathlessly. "It was, uh... Really... sexy..." He stuttered out.

They were both flushed and Aiichirou bent down to kiss his boyfriend instead of think about being called 'sexy'. He'd never imagined he could be... sexy. As far as the freestyle swimmer had known before this relationship with Kenji, he was plain and bland, filling in the background and never noticed. And now he had a wonderful boyfriend who adored him.

"I really do love you," Aiichirou whispered against the brunette's lips.

"I love you too," Kenji said softly, shifting his arms to simply wrap around his boyfriend. He petted soft strands of argent flat and hummed some gentle song under his breath.  
His voice stuttered for a moment, though, when he felt his boyfriend pulling back.

"A-Ai..."

The older boy rolled his hips again and Kenji gripped slender shoulders and bit his lip.  
"Aiichirou!" He cried.

This time, the older boy didn't stop. Slow, tiny jerks of his hips that made them both whimper and the silver-haired boy buried his face in the curve of Kenji's neck to hide his embarrassed flush.

"Ken..."

"Stop," the brunette whispered. "W-w-wait a m-moment."

Aiichirou paused. "I like this."

"So do I." Kenji chuckled. "That's kind of the problem."

"I- _Oh_." The older boy mumbled as he sat up again.

The couple grinned nervously at each other and after a second Aiichirou dared to ask, "C-can I take off your shirt?"

Kenji licked dry lips. "Yes. Yeah. Definitely."

Giggling shyly Aiichirou slipped his fingers below the rim of his boyfriend's shirt. He pulled and tugged it free from the brunette, Kenji propping himself up on his elbows to help, and the silver-haired boy couldn't resist dragging his fingertips over the smooth, unblemished skin stretched tight over strong muscles.

"A-Ai!" Kenji squawked.

Aiichirou giggled and leaned down to peck the older boy quickly. "I'm having fun! Shh!"

"Yeah, o-okay."

With a little more wriggling Kenji's shirt joined Aiichirou's on the floor and light blue eyes widened at the sight of his boyfriend half-naked. Of course, they'd seen each other shirtless plenty of times at swim practice, but being alone and wrapped up together made the experience new and surreal.

Aiichirou lit up with a new blush and Kenji followed suit.  
"W-wow..." The silver-haired boy breathed.

"Yeah... no kidding."

"C-can I..?"

The brunette swallowed hard. "Y-yeah."

For the first time, Aiichirou mapped out his boyfriend's body with touch rather than sight. He found spots that made Kenji squirm, spots that made him laugh, and spots that made him suppress a gasp. Enamored by the reactions he was getting he almost forgot to be mortified... until he traced the curve of a defined hipbone too far down and Kenji sucked in a hard breath.

"Aiichirou," he hissed in warning.

The silver-haired boy felt his face heat up and he stammered an apology.  
"It's fine," the brunette said. "M-my fault."

Sky-colored eyes regarded him seriously for a moment before the older boy swooped down and kissed his boyfriend.  
"Hang on, I'll be right back!"

"Wh-?" But he stopped, unable to finish as the silver-haired boy clambered off his lap and hurried for his overnight bag.

Halfway there Aiichirou tripped and Kenji bolted upright. "Ai?!"

A merry, if slightly embarrassed, chuckle drifted back. "I'm fine."

The older boy came back a moment later with a high flush on his cheeks and holding a slender bottle and a small square foil package.  
Kenji swallowed. Hard. "...oh."

Aiichirou immediately slowed to a stop. "Do you not want the, ah, the condom? Be-because I don't think either of us have diseases and so it's, um. It's probably safe to not have it?"

Kenji knew he had to be crimson with horror. "No! N-no, I mean, if you'd rather, uh, do _it_... with a c-condom that's fine."

The silver-haired boy shuffled nervously. "E-either way is fine. I don't have a preference."

"Let's be on the safe side then," Kenji muttered.  
Aiichirou handed him the little package and Kenji couldn't barely look at the innocuous object as he took it.

"What's the bottle for?"

"Oh!" The older yelped. "It's, ah, it's- it's lube."

They both blushed scarlet at that.

"I-I figured I'd just prepare myself... If that's okay? I think I understand what to do, at least..."

The brunette's brain all but broke. He was pretty sure he had no idea how to prepare another man for taking and the thought of doing it to a moaning Aiichirou- after the fifteen minutes of porn he'd been brave enough to watch- was a mental overload.

"_No_! Uh, I just mean... I don't know h-how, so if y-you do, um, go for it."

The silver-haired boy bit his lip and nodded.  
"C-can I sit on you again?"

"Am I that comfortable?" The younger fired back with a reckless grin.

Aiichirou giggled. "Kinda!"

This time the silver-haired boy straddled his boyfriend's legs to ensure that the brunette could put the condom on (which he watched with undue interest, making Kenji nervous, worse so when he tried to coat the condom with lube) and also so that he could better reach his own entrance.  
It was Kenji's turn to watch, wide-eyed, as Aiichirou lubed up two fingers and set the bottle on the floor next to the couch. Then, with a deep breath, the older boy's slicked hand disappeared behind him.  
Kenji stared in nothing less than rapt fascination as Aiichirou first winced, then relaxed.

"It's weird..." He gasped out after a second of thrusting the one finger inside himself.

"Good weird or bad weird?" The brunette questioned.  
For the moment Kenji was too absorbed in the sight of his boyfriend writhing atop him to be embarrassed.

"Good weird," Aiichirou replied, voice hitching around a tiny moan. "A very good weird."

A few moments later- a minute, maybe a minute and a half- the silver-haired teen grimaced again and his mouth popped open slightly.  
Before the brunette could ask Aiichirou's other hand found the couch cushion beneath Kenji's hip and squeezed.

"Still good weird?" He dared to ask.

"Incredibly good weird," Aiichirou responded breathlessly. "But even though he said three, I think I'm ready."

Kenji wanted to ask who '_he_' was but instead focused on the last part. "Y-you're ready?"

The older boy paused to consider it, light blue eyes serious, and then he nodded and beamed. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" Kenji asked, worry furrowing his brow. "Aiichirou, I really don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you," Aiichirou panted as he crawled forward, the red of his cheeks making the shocking blue of his eyes so much more surreal.

"Ai..." He whispered. "P-please just don't... don't hurt yourself."

The silver-haired boy straddled his stomach and smiled at him and Kenji's heart did that odd little flip-flop again. "It'll be okay."

He twined their fingers together and with his other hand, carefully guided his boyfriend to his entrance. With a comforting squeeze to their interlaced hands Aiichirou started to sink down on the brunette's erection.

Golden eyes widened at the starkly new feeling and he released a shaky breath.  
"Ai..."

The silver-haired boy briefly broke his look of concentration and smiled down at his boyfriend. "You're okay?"

"Ai, I'm just fine. I'm more than fine."

Sky-colored eyes shut and the older teen grinned. "I'm glad."

He lifted his hips and plunged down again, setting a quick pace Kenji hadn't expected, clenching their hands whenever he was filled.  
Less than a minute later their almost startled-sounding moans and cries were all that gave word to their feelings, coherency lost and replaced by unintelligible emotion and sensation as the achingly pleasurable minutes went on and on.

"A-Ai! _Aiichi_- nnn! Aiichirou!"

The silver-haired boy's replies were no less comprehensible. "K-_Kenji_! A-_ahn_~! Ken-!"

Couldn't have been more than five minutes before the older boy keened something that may have been "_I'm coming!_" had it been understandable Japanese.  
Kenji squeezed his boyfriend's hand to show he understood, thrusting up to fill his lover, and Aiichirou went still.

"Kenji..." He moaned- and broke.

A shudder wracked his whole body and he came, spurting warm white across the brunette's chest, and with a disjointed groan Kenji followed.  
With all the strength he had left, and just before Aiichirou came toppling down, the younger boy grabbed his shirt and wiped his chest (mostly) clean with it and let it fall back to the rug.  
The silver-haired boy fell into waiting arms.  
Shivering, panting for breath, they held tight to each other until they could breathe again.

"That was..."

"...amazing." Aiichirou finished for him with a blissful sigh.

"Yep," Kenji agreed, running his fingers through sweat-damp silver hair. "Where did you learn all of that?"

The silver-haired boy blushed scarlet. "Well I um. I... I asked the threesome..?"

Golden eyes flew wide. "You're kidding."

Aiichirou ducked his head and giggled nervously. "Nope! I did."

"Which one? Or all of them?"

Suddenly the giggles died and his boyfriend's shoulders slumped. Kenji immediately wrapped his arms around him once more and held him close.  
"...you know why I couldn't ask Rin-senpai," he muttered and Kenji nodded.

"Because you liked him. Yeah, I know. I was always so jealous of him."

Aiichirou breathed a laugh and poked him in the chest. "Well you should've asked me out sooner!"

"I wish I had," the brunette said, running a hand through soft gray locks again. "I wouldn't even have had to be jealous. _He_ could've been jealous of _me_."

"Because I have the best boyfriend," Aiichirou sighed, nuzzling against Kenji's chest.

The younger boy laughed. "Yeah, that. But so, who did you ask?"

"Well I tried to ask Haruka-senpai, since he's- um. He's the 'bottom' in their relationship... but he started to demonstrate with a dolphin toy of his and I- I couldn't take it and I ran out without looking back. I bumped into Makoto-senpai and told him I was sorry about it and he said not to worry because Haruka-senpai is like that a lot and that's when he told me how to do everything."

"Now I owe them for this night _and_ getting us together." The brunette sleepily grumbled.  
Aiichirou didn't reply, fondly watching Kenji give into sleep and following soon after.

* * *

Aiichirou leaned away from the intent pink gaze.

"N-Nagisa-kun, what is it?"

"Something's different about you two..." The blonde grumbled.

He continued to look back and forth between the couple solemnly.

"But what _is_ it..?" He muttered to himself.

Aiichirou blushed. "N-nothing's changed! Nothing at all!"

Suddenly recognition and triumph lit those magenta eyes and Nagisa hopped half out of his seat, pointing victoriously down at them.  
"_You did the do, didn't you_?!" He shouted.

Kenji and Rei immediately choked on their drinks, hacking and spitting and trying to breathe, while Aiichirou let out a high-pitched whine and lunged across the table to get the older boy to sit again and stop bringing attention to their group.  
"Oh my _god_ Nagisa! How could you just-"

"You _did_!" The blonde interrupted, falling back into his chair howling with laughter. "You _totally did_!"

"Y-yes! Now shut up!"

But the Iwatobi first-year couldn't seem to stop, giggling until he was as red in the face as the rest of the table.  
Finally he calmed enough to stutter out "Who bottomed?" only to burst into more giggles when Aiichirou burned a mortified red.

"_Nagisa-kun_!" The silver-haired boy wailed.

* * *

Ah, Nagisa, never stop being a lil shit.


	4. Socks

Gou is me. My feet get cold _so_ easy and I recently found out that if you get a thick pair of socks _your feet stay warm._ Which is why this came out of seemingly nowhere, eheheh...  
(Gou gets a nice boyfriend though, where's mine?)

**~Socks~**  
Gou had a fuzzy sock fetish.  
Seijuurou originally teased her unmercifully about it, until she spent the night at his house (nothing untoward happened) mid-spring and when they were all cuddled together she pressed her freezing cold toes to his shins and he'd leapt half a mile.

"Kou!" He'd squawked as she erupted in giggles.

"I warned you I forgot my socks!"

"Yeah but you didn't tell me that was a hazard to my health!" He retorted, tickling her sides until she couldn't speak through her laughter.  
He spent a few minutes tickling her until she begged and he stopped and watched her chuckles wind down with a beatific smile.

"My feet and hands are always cold first, and they stay cold a lot. So I wear those socks-" she poked him in the chest- "to keep my feet warm when it's chilly out."

Since then, whenever he wanted her to smile, he bought a pair of fluffy, often ridiculous patterned socks. She would always laugh and accuse him of just being out for his own health and he'd always respond with a kiss and a "Your happiness is my health."  
She would blush and smack him and a second later take his hand and lean her head on his shoulder.  
She never had to worry about cold hands, at least, because holding his kept hers warm.

* * *

He still didn't know how to deal with her when she got like this but because he loved her he dealt with every mood swing. And if he'd thought Matsuoka was moody... His sister took the cake.  
Every single thing that went wrong was subject to either long bouts of distraught sobbing- that time she'd started two days before he planned to take her to the beach for a date- or fury, like when the Iwatobi boys weren't measuring up to their time trial expectations.  
For some reason Gou tended to put in romantic movies (and if he'd heard right- which he still doubted- Rin was a hopeless romantic too) and start bawling over them halfway through. If not the movies it was the manga.  
And then he was hit with a double whammy he'd never expected- Gou home sick _and_ on her period.

* * *

His cell chirped his 'new text alert' tone and Seijuurou groaned, reaching a hand out from the blankets to fumble for it. The digital alarm clock behind it read eight-sixteen and gold eyes narrowed at it. Because it had better be lying to him.  
He found his phone, fully expecting it to be his boss or one of his old teammates, and blinked a few times at the display telling him his girlfriend had texted him.  
_Kou should be in school right now..._ Seijuurou sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. He ran a hand through the unruly hair that had flopped in his eyes to pull it away from his face and opened the text.

_'Sei, can you come over today? I got sick and I'm miserable and you always make me feel better.'_

Gou being sick was a new one. Still, he had work to go to.  
_'Of course I will, but it won't be until after work.'_

With that message sent and another tired sigh- an extra hour's sleep would've been a blessing- the redhead relented to the call of morning and slipped out of bed.  
He shoved his hair back again so he could see where he was going as he headed for the bathroom.  
He only got out of his room before he was assaulted by a dark mass.

"Onii-chan come on! Put on a shirt! I'm not your muscle-loving girlfriend!"

Seijuurou blinked out from underneath the thing drooping over his head- a shirt, if he had to guess- one golden eye landing on his irate sister.

"Gimme a break, Kurenai, I'm not even awake yet."

His little sister- Mikoshiba Kurenai, now a first year at Iwatobi- stood with hands on her hips and a scowl at the end of the hall.

"So what! Put on a shirt!"

"I'm going to the shower," he grumbled tiredly. "You've seen me in speedos and those cover a lot less than pants, what's the big deal?"

"_Eww_ don't remind me!" The fiery-haired girl shrieked.

Honey-colored eyes rolled and Seijuurou made the left turn into the bathroom.  
After his shower he indulged in a few minutes sprawled out in the tub. It couldn't have been five minutes into his soak when he heard his sister pass by the bathroom door remarking loudly "Oh my Kou-chan, Onii-chan said _that_?"

Golden eyes snapped open and Seijuurou gracelessly scrambled out of the tub. Kou had actually called him? And Kurenai had picked up, that wasn't going to end well. Unfortunately Kurenai had a whole fount of embarrassing stories about him, as good little sisters do, and she loved only too much to blab them to any who would listen.

"Kurenai you are about to see your big brother naked if I don't get my phone back!" He hollered around the corner of the hallway, determined to stay in the bathroom.

A shriek of horror came from deeper in the house and suddenly his phone came sailing toward him from down the hall. He fumbled it, missed, and it bounced off the rug.

"Shit..!" He yelped as he grabbed for the glowing device.

Finally he retrieved the poor phone and after a quick spot-check he put it to his ear. "Kou, you there?"

A sniffle followed by a nasally _"Izzat you, Sei?"_

He blinked, thrown for a second. "Wow, you sound terrible."

If his tone hadn't been soft and sympathetic he might have been chewed out for the phrasing but as it was she gave a laugh that cracked partway through. _"I know. I feel terrible."_

"I'm sorry," he said, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading back to his bedroom to prepare for work.

_"I'll live,"_ she laughed. _"I'm just feeling sorry for myself!"_

He held the mobile phone between shoulder and jaw as he looked his uniform shirt over critically. "I'll be there as soon as I can but it will probably be a couple of hours. I can maybe weasel my way out of work a little early, but-"

_"No!"_ Kou squawked hoarsely, only to devolve into a heavy coughing fit. _"No, Sei, don't do that. I'll be f-"_ A sneeze, _"-fine. Really. I'm already feeling better just talking to you."_

He snorted. "Yeah, sure sounds like it."

_"Sei!"_ She moaned. _"I mean it. I just wanted to see you because you always cheer me up."_

He couldn't help how happy that made him and he grinned at the wall. "I'll be over as soon as I can. In the meantime, get plenty of rest and fluids, okay? I should make it around two-thirty or three."

_"Okay. Thank you so much."_

"Of course," he replied just as fondly before hanging up and getting dressed.

* * *

Seijuurou spent every break on his cell texting his girlfriend.

_'What about school assignments and swim practice?'_

_'Makoto-senpai said he already got my assignments and homework for me. And I texted him our regimen. All he has to do is force them to stick to it, which they probably won't, since Makoto-senpai isn't authoritative enough.'_

Seijuurou admittedly didn't know much about Tachibana- and even less about Nanase- but the impressions he had gotten from Rin were very much that Tachibana Makoto was the team mom rather than team captain.  
And Rin seemingly had no complaints, because every passing mention would evoke a blush and an embarrassed mutter.  
Seijuurou had called his underclassman a tsundere the other day and he'd meant it.

_'Oh and Sei? Is your place still hiring?'_

Golden eyes narrowed at his phone's screen. _'Matsuoka Gou you are _not_ coming to work here.'_

'No way! I have a bunch of idiots to corral on a daily basis. Makoto-senpai needs a part-time job. And I was wondering if you could put in a good word for him?'

Seijuurou tapped his cell distractedly. While Tachibana did seem more bark than bite, he had to be able to handle his pair of boyfriends somehow, which hinted at some sort of backbone. The town of Iwatobi was fairly small anyway; the redhead doubted the younger Captain could get into too much trouble.

_'Yeah, I'll put in a good word for him.'_

* * *

It was a relief to get off work and Seijuurou had to tamp down his excited grin as he jogged away from the convenience store he worked at.  
He knew the way to the Matsuoka residence by heart now and it never failed to make him smile when the house popped up on the horizon.  
The redheaded woman who opened the door shook her head with a snicker at the sight of him standing on her front porch. Seijuurou knew he had to look a little stupid- bouncing eagerly back and forth as he stood there with a broad grin on his face- but Matsuoka Kimiko had become used to his presence at this point.

"She's in her room crying already. There's ice cream in the freezer."

"Gotcha, ma'am!" He barked with a wink.

He snatched the ice cream and a pair of spoons and went to his girlfriend's room with the Matsuoka matriarch's amused laughter followed him all the way.

Seijuurou paused in the doorway, however, gaping a little with incredulity.

* * *

It had caused him to laugh, at first, the sight of her bundled up in her comforter like a pudgy caterpillar.

Then she started throwing things.

One remote and two DVD boxes and some screeching later he got her to calm down and apologized for being gone so long. He bored her about his part-time job until she started crying over the ending of the movie and then he just had to laugh at her over-the-top behavior again.

He stopped chuckling when she punched him in the knee. No swimming for him until that bruise faded, that was for sure.

"S-Sei!" She whined in that oddly nasally voice. "Stop it! It's not-" she hiccuped around a sob "It's not funny."

He kissed her temple. "No, of course not." He agreed between snorts of laughter.

She burrowed under her comforter shortly after and it took him fifteen minutes to convince her to come back out and even then it was only to pick a new movie to put in.

She also stole the ice cream. And his spoon.

He was grinning over it all anyway. "God you're adorable."

She handed his spoon back.

* * *

The next day- Saturday- he found her right where he expected to. Curled up on the couch wrapped in three layers of blankets. He grinned and walked right up to her, stopping in front of the television and holding a plastic bag out, and her brow furrowed as she struggled to see past him.

"Sei, the movie's almost- what's in the bag?"

Still grinning he upended the whole thing and pair after pair of fuzzy warm socks piled over her, bouncing off her as she squeaked and tried to bat them away and broke into peals of bright laughter.

Bag empty, he crouched before her and his grin softened to a warmer smile.  
"Feel better?"

She giggled and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight. "You're the best. Thank you. I know I'm terrible right now."

He shook his head and pulled her into his lap. "You're still perfect."

Gou sniffled. "Seijuurou..."

"No crying!" He exclaimed and shoved a pink-polka-dotted pair of purple fluffy socks into her hands. "None of that."

She giggled again and nuzzled her head into his neck. "Thanks. Really."

He turned, swiping a couple rolled socks out of the way, and leaned back against the couch so she could finish her movie. He rested his chin on her head as she tossed some of the comforter around him and he rubbed her back.  
"No problem."

* * *

WHY CAN'T SEI BE REAL. WHY. OH THE INJUSTICE.


	5. Deprivation- NSFW

NSFW AGAIN! But only after the first break, so you can enjoy the fluff until then!

...I don't even know where this idea came from anymore, but here. Have some Haru and his water obsession. Reminder to read the next Of Boys and Cats update _after_ this one! This is silly and cracky but I still love it.

**~Deprivation~**  
Haru whimpered- an uncharacteristic noise- and curled even tighter into his ball of misery. Rin sighed and rubbed the black-haired boy's back. He would be as unhappy as Haru if it weren't for the fact that he had a paper due by Monday and was studying, textbook spread in his lap, as they waited for Makoto to come back. The brunette had gotten a part time job after school (and club times) so the duo saw him less and less often, making time spent with him treasured.

"Rin, call him?"  
The entreaty was piteous.

"Haru, he'll be home any minute. If I call him it'll just take longer. Be patient, geez."

Haru buried his nose in Rin's hip and threw an arm over the redhead's textbook. "I'm tired." He moaned.

"Haru I'm trying to study. Move."

No response except for Haru's breathing evening out. "Oi, Haru, don't fall asleep-"

A solid banging noise resounded in the formerly quiet evening and Haru jolted awake. A moment later he groaned and gripped Rin's thigh when a second bang rang into the night. Haru cast a beleaguered look up at his boyfriend and the redhead winced at the dark circles under the water-lover's eyes.  
The pipes had frozen and burst almost a week ago and left Haru with no water, no rest, and even less of a temper. The workmen were at it around the clock and that left the already forlorn boy without sleep which had made him waspish and quick to lash out. Rin, still living in the Samezuka dorms except for the weekends, was exempt and Makoto, being gone from the neighborhood for so long per day, was also free of most of the worst effects at his own house.

"I'm sure Mako is-"

"I'm back!" Echoed from the downstairs.

Haru sat up and Rin shut his book. "Up here, Mako!"

The brunette took a few minutes- Rin was willing to bet the mother-hen was putting away whatever he'd brought home from work- before he came into the room with his usual smile and a plastic bag bulging around a box.

"I'm home, you two."

"Thank god," Rin grunted. "I don't know how you've dealt with his mood swings all this time."

"Rin," Makoto admonished. "You know he's not usually this bad. And you can't blame him, this has been bad for all of us."

"I'm right here," Haru grumbled, reaching for the bag.

Makoto, with that same damn smile, pulled it out of the black-haired boy's reach. "Rin, shut the windows, please?"

"Yeah yeah," the redhead muttered. Despite the standoffish way he was treating it, Rin had already put away his books for the night and was preparing for bed.

Makoto (taking the bag with him, to Haru's utter frustration) hunted down the standing fan and set it at the end of their bed. Rin was finished with his job and he stripped down to his boxers and tank top before sliding back into bed next to Haru, who was still sitting up and now _definitely_ pouting at the grinning brunette.

"Mako, please..." He whispered.  
Makoto smiled and handed the bag over.

While the big brunette calmly went about stripping and getting ready for bed (pretending he didn't feel Rin's eyes on him) Haru ripped the bag off the box and stared at the cardboard container for a few seconds. Then he tore into the box, opening the lid and tossing out styrofoam as he unearthed a small machine.  
A white-noise maker; just the thing that would help Haru sleep. Rin sighed and hooked a finger over the edge of the box, dragging it over so he could look at the descriptions. It had been Nagisa's idea to get one.

"Oi, give the trash here, mackerel-boy, before Makoto throws a fit."

Haru mindlessly pushed styrofoam and emptied plastics bags at Rin, turning the electronic over and looking for where the cords plugged in.  
The next few minutes passed in amicable silence: Rin examining the device's functions and sounds while Haru configured it and Makoto putzed around the bathroom for _no conceivable reason because Haru had no water_.  
Finally a shuffling noise and a thunk made Rin glance up and snort. Haru was half off the bed, searching blindly for the outlet, delectably tempting ass wiggling in the air.

_Invitation if I ever saw one_, Rin thought dryly.

He reached out but before he so much as touched the black-haired boy's skin Haru slapped his hand.  
"Don't even," he growled and resumed his outlet searching.

"Fucker!" Rin yelped. "If you don't want it don't put it on display like that!"

"Rin's a pervert," Haru shot back blandly.

"Huhhh?!" The redhead shouted.

"Guys," Makoto chuckled as he sauntered out of the bathroom.

The pair lapsed into silence and Haru finally got the device plugged in. He set it on his bedside table and turned it on, quickly pressing the skip button until he came to number three- Rin checked the box and rolled his eyes- 'Ocean Tides'.  
The hydrophile cranked up the volume until it almost blocked out the sound from down the street and sighed with what could almost be regarded as bliss. His boyfriends smiled at him then each other and Makoto came around to Rin's side, leaving Haru the closest to the soothing machine.  
Blue eyes were already fluttering and Rin pawned off the trash-filled box to the brunette. Makoto took it with a good-natured sigh and set it aside as Rin laid Haru down and tucked him in.  
The black-haired boy caught red eyes (and green just behind) and tried to offer gratitude but it came out a garbled mumble as Haru lost the battle with unconsciousness.

"Man, I hope that keeps him." Rin grumbled, sweeping his bangs back. "I hate seeing him so wiped out."

"He's been trying to sleep at school when he can- he's even been skipping lunch to sleep."  
Rin cursed softly but sighed when Makoto kissed his shoulder and pulled him down to the bed.

"Hmm. I've even caught him dozing off in the pool."  
_That_ startled Rin but the gentle nips and kisses across his shoulders and the back of his neck made him melt and forget questions and finally sleep.

* * *

Something woke Rin some time later.

Someone's harsh panting rang out over the machine (now onto 'Rippling River') and when Rin blinked fully awake he sucked in a breath and stared at nothing, not quite able to believe what he was hearing.

"Is he..?" He breathed.

"Mmm-hmm," Makoto's breathy reply ghosted over his shoulder.

Disbelief colored the redhead's tone. "He is jacking off to the sound of water."

Makoto chuckled. "Mmm-hmm. You're really surprised?"

Rin groaned and hid his face behind his hand. "...somehow, no. You bought this particular one on purpose, didn't you?"

The brunette laughed even more softly, running his fingers up Rin's thigh. "Had the most water-related sounds out of all of them. Honestly, it was just supposed to relax him, but... Seems he had another idea for relaxing to go with it."

"Haru..." Rin groaned.

"Mm- nngh- Mako, Rin- I'm close..!"

"Don't expect us to help you!" Rin snapped, sharp teeth clicking together. "You got yourself into this and you can finish it."

Not that Haru's voice, gone reedy with desire, didn't send a thrill down his boyfriends' spines. However, no water meant no shower and no way to clean up so Haru would have to deal.  
The device switched to the next track and Haru's whimper echoed in the sudden silence before a wave crashed on the shore and Haruka cried out his release.  
The blue-eyed boy's panting weaved into and around the crashing waves for a few long moments before a (thankfully dry) hand came out and found Rin's arm.

"...guys?" He whispered.

"What." Rin grit out, willing his growing erection away through pure force of will.

"What's the matter, Haru-chan?" Makoto had to ask, since their telepathy didn't work in pitch blackness.

"I'm tired."


	6. What The New Year Brings

i'm laaaaaaaate! ;A; I'm sorry, I tried really really hard! This is technically set ten chapters of OBAC ago, sorry for the messing with timelines, but I felt it was okay to just add this into the sidefic. So here you go~ Warning: pure fluff. Slight bit of foreshadowing for that potential lesbian relationship I mentioned a while back...****

**What The Next Year Brings**  
Makoto was all but floating on cloud nine.

His mother had been cooking for the past four days but tonight she had taken some time to relax. They had enough meals stacked up for two days and now she was simply waiting on their New Year's soba. The twins had napped frequently throughout the day in preparation for the night's activities and were now nursing sodas and staring at the door just waiting for the bell.

Because he lived alone, Haru had been a part of the Tachibana family's New Year's for five years now. His grandmother, honoring his wishes to be with his best friend, had tottered down the stairs after him (Makoto's father would always rush up to lend her his arm) and join them. The last three years Haru would appear wordlessly on their doorstep. Forbidden from touching the kitchen, Makoto had been buzzing around with the rest of the family- laying out the twins' kimono and his own, herding the pair into the bath, taking his own bath after his father's, coordinating with the rest of the team on where and when they would be meeting, hurriedly saving the picture from Rin of the redhead shirtless before his siblings could see it (or his drooling)- but everything came to a halt when the bell rung.

"Haru-chan!" The twins shrieked in unison, pelting for the door.

With longer limbs giving him the advantage Makoto got to the door first. Ran and Ren crowded at his sides, wide eyes shining with eagerness at the door, and he shooed them back with a laugh.

"Come on, you two, back up or he can't come in."

Haru smiled slightly at his boyfriend when Makoto opened the door to him.

"Hey love," he greeted under his breath as the older boy slipped into the home. In closing the door Makoto had essentially trapped his lover in the corner of the entryway and with another smile- indulgent this time- Haru stretched up for a kiss.

Then the twins squeezed past their brother and threw their arms around the black-haired boy's waist as they gleefully cried his name.

Haru smiled down at them and between himself and his lover they managed to prize the twins away.  
"Sounds like you aren't behaving."

The youngest Tachibana family members were well used to Haru's emotionless tone and his words just made Ran giggle.  
"We're being good! Really we are! Mama said we have to be if we want to be allowed to watch the first sunrise!"

"Then you should listen to your brother."

Pouting, Ran and Ren let the black-haired boy go. Their mother called from the kitchen and the pair squealed and took off.

"They're energetic." Haru observed.

"Soda," Makoto said tiredly. "Two cans each."

Haruka winced in understanding and sidled closer. Green eyes caught his and Makoto smiled as deceptively powerful arms looped around his neck, Haru stretching himself up on his toes to lean in for a kiss.  
The brunette all but melted into it, running his hands over the slope of the elder's spine, the curve of his-

"My my, already, you two?"

With a startled yelp Makoto pulled back, whole face lighting up a vivid red that made Haru smile, and turned to his mother.  
"Ah! Mom, I'm really sorry- I didn't- I-"

Tachibana Megumi laughed and waved off her son's frantic stammered apologies. "Young love doesn't wait. It's all right. I just wanted to tease!" She said with the family smile.

Which instantly forgave her.

"Makoto. I brought my formalwear. Could you help me into it?"

"Eh? Of course, Haru-chan."

"Ah, boys, let's eat the soba first! You wouldn't want to get your kimono stained!"  
Haru smiled and followed the bigger teenager into the kitchen.

* * *

The twins were focused on the television they could just barely catch sight of, slurping their noodles and/or trying to sing along with the performers, causing table-wide winces and more than a few scoldings.  
Perfectly at home, Haru just relaxed into his chair and watched the kids be kids and his boyfriend be their gentle older brother and the parents be the perfect parents he envied.  
Makoto's phone buzzed against his hip and he glanced down, fumbling for it.

"Rin?" Haru asked.

The whole table's attention was suddenly on the brunette as he read through the text.

"Rei. He just met Rinrin at the station though. They'll be here in maybe twenty minutes."

"They're all gonna come? I can't wait to spend the night with Rin-nii-chan!"

"Nagisa-chan is always really fun!"

"And you said Rei-san will be coming?"

"Yes. Their families are coming too, but the swim team will be going together."

"And Rin-nii-chan!"

"Because he's your lover!"

Makoto turned bright red and busily went back to his bowl of noodles.

* * *

Haru was watching him with half-lidded eyes as he finished the simple knot. Makoto smirked at the black-haired boy, smoothing his palms over the sea-dark blue folds of the older's haori and brushing his fingers oh-so-slightly over the junction of lean, strong legs hidden by hakama-

"Makoto."  
It was want and warning in that tone and it made Makoto grin.

They'd retired to the bathroom so the pair of boyfriends could help each other dress in the formal kimono- haori and hakama included. Ren was being dressed by his father in his big brother's room and Ran in her parents' room.

The brunette had been finished with his deep green outfit first, Haruka working with an impressive single-minded precision. Makoto... had taken his time.  
"I think you're ready to go, Haru-cha-"

The doorbell rang and the familiar thunder of a pair of excited footsteps sounded through the house.

Makoto sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning out of the bathroom door. "Ran! Ren! Don't-"

"Rin-nii-chan!" The pair yelled. The front door smacked into the wall in their haste and their older brother winced, rushing to the entryway.

The twins were giggling, clinging to one of Rin's arms each, and the redhead seemed amusedly nonplussed. The other two members of the Iwatobi team (barely visible past Rin and his sudden burdens) were also dressed in their formal best- Nagisa in a dark magenta kimono and Rei in deep violet while Rin wore burgundy- and Nagisa leaned around Rin to regard the twins with a pout.

"How come you guys don't call _me_ Nagisa-nii-chan? I'm jealous.."

Makoto finally got to the door, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow down at his siblings. "Ran, Ren, what did I just say?! Now you stop that, you two need to calm down or I'm putting you straight to bed!"

Rin chuckled. "It's all right, babe. They don't bother me."

"Oh, don't encourage them. Mom has finally agreed they're old enough to stay up until the sunrise but they're acting awfully childish right now..."  
Ran and Ren released their brother's boyfriend in an instant, bounding away.

"And Nagisa-chan!" Ran exclaimed suddenly as if remembering something.

"We don't call you our big brother because you're not gonna marry our brother like Rin-nii-chan and Haru-nii-chan!" Ren finished for her.

"Waaahh Haru-chan and Rin-chan have already proposed?!"

"Nagisa!" Makoto whined. "It's not like that at all!"

The blonde put a finger to his lips with a coy grin. "Oh? But Mako-chan and Haru-chan always act like a married couple..."

"They do, they do!" Megumi giggled.

"Mom!" The brunette shrieked.

Rin dragged Makoto close for a deep kiss and green eyes flew wide.  
"Rin!" He squawked as he flailed backward.

The redhead broke into raucous laughter and even Haru cracked a grin. "It's your fault for being so da- _darn_ cute, Makoto!"

Ran crossed her arms with a huff. "Are you gonna keep doing the kissy thing or can we go now?"

Rin gave the brunette a sumptuous look that hinted he wouldn't mind continuing 'the kissy thing' but Makoto- back in control of his faculties- glared him down.

"Let's just get ready to go."

* * *

Rin was laughing as he wrapped Haru's neck in a bright red scarf, pausing only to kiss the black-haired boy's nose before he buried it in cloth. Haru grumbled but his cheeks had pinked and he suddenly couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Makoto was deftly twining the scarf Rin had bought Ren around the boy's neck and face, smiling and chatting with his little brother, which made it easy for Rin to swoop over and start wrapping Makoto's orange scarf around the brunette's own neck.

Ren finished and ready to go Makoto stood and turned toward the grinning redhead to claim a gentle kiss. Rin flipped the end of the scarf over the brunette's head and earned himself a soft laugh.

Suddenly Ren lit up with a blush and squeaked. His sister, sensing something to tease him about, whirled to seek out his discomfort and grinned.

"Haru-nii-chan! You're wearing the mackerel gloves we bought you?!"

Nagisa snickered. "Oh so _that's_ where they came from..."

"They're warm," Haru said, the words muffled by the scarf Makoto had come over to fuss with. "Thank you very much for them, Ren. Ran."

Ren seemed to have lost his voice and he ducked behind Rei. Ran giggled and bounced over to Rin, taking the redhead's hand.  
"Hiiii, Rin-nii-chan!"

He grinned and reached over to ruffle the little girl's hair. "So I get stuck with you, huh?"

"I'll be good I promise!"

"You better be, 'cus I'll bring you right back home, don't think I won't."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he bared his teeth.

"All right all right," Makoto broke in. "Rin, please, I hardly need or _want_ four children to look after tonight."

It took a moment for the group to do the math but then Ren cocked his head.  
"Wait, but- who's the third?"

Haruka was already grinning behind his scarf, well aware of who his lover meant, as Makoto aimed a playful glare at Nagisa.

"_Ehh_?! Why meeee?" The blonde said mournfully.

"Nagi, that's obvious to everyone here." Rin muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"I'll keep him in line, Makoto-senpai." Rei promised.

* * *

On the way out of the house Makoto laughed to himself as he watched his father tuck the twins' New Year money into either sleeve. The eldest Tachibana child had gracefully bowed out of the tradition this year as he had the last three; he didn't mind his siblings having the extra bit or his parents keeping it for their own needs or the needs of the family. Makoto knew for fact that each pouch held around 15,000 yen and he was eagerly anticipating his siblings' joy at seeing the amount they'd been given- after all, he'd chipped in some of his own money.

The stairs were clogged with people but not badly enough for them to be swamped- especially not with the swim team's bulk to back them up.

"Nagisa, Rei, where are your parents and siblings waiting?" The brunette asked.

"They said they'd stay by the _amazake_ vendors." Rei said.

"Then that should be our first stop."

Rin took point abruptly and pushed through the people with ease, grinning. He'd seen a familiar head of fiery hair bobbing above the crowd...  
"Oi! Captain!"

Seijuurou turned around and broke into a wide, pearly grin, waving them over. Gou pushed out of the crowd and launched herself at her brother with a gleeful laugh and Rin caught her, twirling his sister once before setting her on her feet and kissing her forehead.  
"Happy New Year, you."

She smacked him in the chest. "Happy New Year to you, too, Onii-chan."

"Ah, Kou-chan, you look very pretty again tonight!"

The redheaded girl laughed and bowed. "Thank you very much Makoto-senpai!"

"Is Chigusa-chan here too?" The brunette asked, straining to look over the crowd's heads.

A downright sneaky look crossed the girl's face and Rin threw an arm around her neck. "What's up, sis?"

"Chigusa's flirting with Kurenai-chan."

Nagisa hopped up to the front, pink eyes bright. "Ooh ooh! Who's Kure-chan?"

"Sei's little sister."  
The whole swim team was suddenly regarding their manager with dumbfounded surprise.

"...wait seriously?" Rin said in the end.

Gou giggled and rocked back and forth on her _zori_. "Yep! Which I'm glad about. It's about time Chigusa found someone!"

"...huh." Makoto said faintly.

"Come on, we saw Rei-kun and Nagisa-kun's parents a few minutes ago. We can take you to them!"

Rin got ambushed by his mother and the Captain- Mikoshiba messing up the smaller redhead's hair with a smirk and his mother squeezing half the life out of him before Makoto managed to intervene- but only a few minutes later they were on their way to the _amazake_ stalls.

* * *

Where Rei's parents were reserved (but not exactly traditional), Nagisa's were just as peppy as their child.  
"Rin-kun, so nice to see you again after so long!"

The tiny blonde woman was _pinching his cheeks_. Who even did that anymore?!  
"Y-yesh ma'am. A l-long time."

"You grew up big and strong I see! And my my my, is that little Makoto-kun? Goodness who would have thought you to get so big?"

"Who indeed," Megumi sighed wistfully.

"Oh, and Haruka-kun, isn't it?"

"Haru," the black-haired boy corrected quietly. "But it's been a long time, ma'am."

"_Mooooom_!" Nagisa whined.

"Oh all right, dear, run off with your friends. Us boring old folks will stick together."

"Oh, ma'am, it's not like that at all-"

"Makoto."

The brunette flinched and turned to his mother. "Er, yes?"

"I agree with Hazuki-san. You go have fun. Keep the twins out of trouble, won't you?"

"O-oh! Of course!"  
As the swim team left, Makoto herding the twins away, they could all hear the Ryugazakis introducing themselves.

"Man, I hope Mom doesn't make mincemeat out of them..."

Rei balked, staring in horror at Gou. He looked faintly ill. "I-is that p-possible?"

Rin shrugged and buried his face in his scarf. "Maybe. Never did hear from that Yamanaka kid again..."

"Rin-san!" The blue-haired boy spluttered.

* * *

The group found their own cups of _amazake_, sipping the warm drinks as they wandered through the shrine grounds, talking and chatting amongst themselves. The threesome drifted ever closer to each other, hands brushing one moment and fingers twining together the next. When they turned their heads to speak in each others' ears it sometimes became a brush of lips against skin and half-lidded gazes.  
Nagisa clung onto Rei's arm, grinning up at the younger boy, affectionate nicknames and epithets falling from his lips as they walked.  
Seijuurou had an arm casually wrapped around his girlfriend's waist, occasionally leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head as she sipped her drink.  
And Chigusa and Kurenai seemed to be keeping pace together, their chatter neverending, until they were pressed together to hide the linkage of their fingers and both burning with a blush.

"Almost time," Haru observed a little while later.

Makoto grinned and turned to the group. "Everyone wait here!"

He rushed over to a nearby stall and came back with four boxes of sparklers. He handed one to Nagisa- or started to before hurriedly correcting to give it to Rei- and another to Seijuurou. He handed the last to Rin and crouched before his siblings.

"Can I trust you with these?"

Ran and Ren were wide-eyed with glee. "Yes!" The girl squealed.

"Yeah," Ren added softly. "We'll be good."

"All right then."

A few minutes later Nagisa was the one running about dangerously with the small fireworks. Rei chased after his boyfriend, shouting his name in about a hundred different levels of exasperation, and Gou was resting against her boyfriend's side as he painted in the air with light. If Makoto's eyes weren't fooling him, that was Kurenai kissing Chigusa in the shadows of a stall. And Rin and Haru were laughing, leaning towards each other as they lit their own.

"Hey Mako!"

The brunette broke out of his blissful reverie to blink at his redheaded lover. "Wh-what?"

Rin waved a sparkler with a broad grin. "Want a light?"

Makoto smiled. "Yeah."

As he went to his lovers Ran passed by, shrieking with delight, and he had to laugh.  
"Looks like they're having fun."

"They are," Haru agreed, stretching up to kiss the brunette's cheek.

"Hey, look over there!" Rin said, pointing with his sparkler.

Ren had paused next to a little girl. He turned around and went back to her, crouching slightly to talk to her. She scuffed a tiny wooden sandal and ducked her head. Ren smiled at her and she nodded after a second. The male twin beamed at the small girl and handed her the small firework. Her eyes widened and she stared at him slack-jawed before crowing thanks and gleefully running away with it.

Haru- having watched the whole exchange- cocked his head and smiled slightly at the brunette at his side. "Ren reminds me of a young Makoto."

Makoto jumped, broken out of his fond staring after his sibling, and glanced askance at the older teen. "Ah, really?"

"Yup," Rin said. "Selfless to a fault and a total sweetheart."

Makoto's cheeks started to burn red and his lovers smirked at each other.  
"Hey, Haru."

"Yeah, Rin?"

"Isn't there a New Year's kiss tradition?"  
His reply was a smug smirk.

Their gentle giant of a boyfriend blushed and stammered. "Wh-wha..?"

The first '_bong_' of the shrine bell rang into the night as Rin and Haru rose up to claim a corner of the brunette's mouth for their own. By the third Makoto and Haru had switched to Rin, and the seventh it was Rin and Makoto kissing Haruka. Then a simple kiss to each other and they dissolved into quiet laughter under the winter moon.

* * *

On the last ring- Haru had carefully counted- he embraced his lovers again and found his lips claimed a last time, a tinge of _amazake_ still lingering between them.

"Happy New Year, Haru-chan."

"Happy New Year's, Haru."

And Haruka smiled, full of warmth and adoration and the comforting sensation of being loved.

"I love you both."

* * *

They got their soba from a nearby vendor and the swim team sat together, chatting and laughing among themselves, determinedly not displaying any sort of couple's behavior.  
Rei didn't kiss away the drop of broth on Nagisa's cheek. Makoto didn't lean over the table to kiss Haru breathless when the black-haired boy caught sight of the fireworks and his brilliant blue eyes shone brighter than ever. Rin didn't give into his want at the longing in Makoto's eyes. Seijuurou and Gou alone were comfortable with public displays but even they were subdued. It didn't stop golden eyes from shimmering at the redhead and didn't stop her from kissing his cheek and rendering him mute.

Their parents sat a table away and watched their progeny with knowing gazes. The puppy-love eyes Rei regarded Nagisa with, the warmth in the threesome's stares, the soft laughter shared between the couples, the special expressions reserved only for their significant others.

Gentle brown eyes watched her son. "You know the world says young love, but... Sometimes I believe they have a love far deeper than their age."

With a quiet laugh Matsuoka Kimiko drained her _amazake_. "I have to agree, Megumi."

* * *

They parted ways after that- Seijuurou, Gou, Chigusa and their families (Rei's and Nagisa's included) to their homes and the Tachibanas and their extra four surrogate-sons back down the hill- with waves and laughter and New Year's wishes.

Ren yawned hugely and Rin laughed as he ruffled short hair. "You two are never going to last until daybreak."

"Will too!" Ran shrieked.

"Will not," Rin snorted.

Upon arriving at the house (and changing back into less formal clothing) the Tachibana matriarch coyly suggested they play _karuta_ to pass the time before they wandered to the docks for the sunrise and her twin children leapt at the idea, Ren proudly proclaiming himself as top _karuta_ player in his grade (which earned him a foul look from his sister). Rin shrugged and agreed and that caused a domino effect; Haru pounced at the chance all of a sudden and Nagisa followed suit. Rei volunteered to be the reader for the game and with plenty of begging and whining and tugging on his sleeve Ran convinced her older brother to her side with Rin.

"You know I'm no good at this..." He grumbled.

"Neither is Nagisa-chan but he's at least gonna try!"

"Hey!" The blonde whined while his boyfriend snorted behind a card.

"Hey c'mon, Mako, I agreed and you know how bad _I_ am at Japanese Language." Rin said.

Outweighed by his teammates the brunette sighed heavily. "Okay, okay."

* * *

Though Ran did not want to admit defeat, she had to before too long- Haruka and Ren were just too good and Nagisa could snatch up the cards faster than they would've believed- and though the game ended with some sharp arguments between the twins their brother was able to diffuse them.

"Maaaan, it's not even three yet..." Nagisa sighed.

The threesome were lounging on each other- Makoto resting against a wall with Haru leaning against his chest (subsequently spread out over both his and Rin's laps) and Rin resting his head on the brunette's left shoulder- while Nagisa and Rei sat on the couch with the twins, both of whom were nodding off for the umpteenth time.

"And your siblings are falling asleep, Makoto-senpai."

"Maybe we should just put them to bed..." Megumi hummed, a line of worry in her brow.

"They'll be upset to miss it, but maybe next year-"

"No!" Ran slurred, struggling upright. "No, I- R-Ren and I wanna... wanna see... the sunrise..."

Rin cracked an eye open. "Another round of soda for everyone?"

Makoto sighed. "I suppose? It's up to Mom."

Mrs. Tachibana laughed. "May as well!"

* * *

One soda per person later Nagisa came up with the idea of a scary movie- quickly shut down by the others- on the premise that Makoto's shrieks of horror would keep everyone awake.  
A half-hour later- once even Rei was nodding off and Haruka was passed out in Makoto's arms- it was decided it was a good idea instead. Twenty minutes into the movie Makoto was hiding behind Rin and muffling high-pitched yelps in crimson hair while Haru rubbed his back and leisurely devoured mackerel crackers (neither lover knew where he bought the things but he had plenty of them). Ran had ended up clinging to her twin as they watched, the young pair completely engrossed in the film. Nagisa was thrilled and leaning perhaps too close to the screen while Rei broke down the movie's aesthetics with long-suffering sighs.

A terrifying hour later, the Tachibanas congregated over the sleeping twins.  
"Should we still go?" Makoto whispered to his mother over a sleeping Ran's head.

"They'll be so upset if we don't..." She replied quietly, examining her children.

"They've been up long enough," Tachibana Nobuo added, carding a hand through Ren's hair. "Next year perhaps."

But the gentle action roused Ren, who stirred and looked up at his family through heavy lidded eyes. "Is it time?"

Megumi smiled. "Yes. Yes it is."

They had the twins more or less awake some fifteen minutes later. Nagisa was a ball of bouncy energy coaxing the two into action and even leading them down the shrine stairs hand in hand. Rei followed after his boyfriend, the threesome right behind. Nobuo and Megumi waited atop the the steps for a moment, watching their oldest son laugh at something Rin whispered in his ear and Haruka crack an actual grin in response.

"I'm very happy Makoto found himself in them." Nobuo said quietly, wrapping an arm around his petite wife's waist.

"I'm happy _they_ found _him_."  
With a matching pair of chuckles the Tachibana parents started after their group of errant kids.

The twins were still stumbling down the stairs when Haru darted past them.

"Haru no!" Makoto wailed, breaking into a run after his boyfriend.

Rin swore aloud (the twins weren't awake enough to register the sound) and dashed past Nagisa, calling the oldest teenager's name.

"Nanase Haruka you absolutely cannot go into the bay in this weather! Haru stop! _Haruuuuuuu!_"

Nagisa burst into laughter, dropping the twins' hands to sit on the steps and hold his sides, giggling for all he was worth.  
"Oh my god Haru-chan! Oh my god!"

"Haruka-senpai!" Rei yelped.

Rin finally caught their lover at the water's edge as he started to strip. Having so many extra layers was a benefit they hadn't realized they'd need, but this morning they had to be relieved.

Makoto arrived next, sighing in aggravation, fixing his boyfriend's scarf and fighting an amused smile.  
"Honestly, Haru-chan..."

"Sorry."

"No you're not," Rin snorted, knocking their foreheads together.

"Is Haru-nii-chan okay?" Ren asked, eyes wide.

"He's fine."

"A little crazy, but fine." Rin agreed with a snicker.

* * *

The whole group sat on the edge of the sea wall, the twins claiming their brother's sides (to his boyfriends' annoyance) and settling in to watch the ever-brightening skies.

"How much longer?" Ren whined, fixing Makoto with a plaintive look.  
The brunette chuckled and ruffled his little brother's hair, checking his watch.

"Maybe another twenty minutes. Hang in there, you two."

"We will!" Ran said roughly, crossing her arms over her chest with surety. "We can stay up long enough!"

Nagisa laughed, swinging his feet slightly (careful due to his _geta_ still on his feet), and agreed. "I was really determined my first sunrise too! My sisters never let me sleep though... They're so mean."

"Eh? Never?"

Nagisa shook his head with a smirk. "Nope. Never. They'd put my hair up in ribbons or put me in a dress if I so much as nodded off."  
The next fifteen minutes involved the twins fervently grilling their brother's friend about his awful siblings, a topic which Nagisa was only too happy to expound upon.

"My own brother refused to let me sleep once he deemed me old enough..." Rei added quietly. "I had a test the next week. I couldn't study properly for days afterward..."

The rest of the team collectively winced at their friend's complaint (except Rin, who rolled his eyes with a snort).

Suddenly Ran leapt to her feet and pointed over the bay.  
"Look look! I see the sun!"

All at once Makoto found himself boxed in by a familiar redhead and a gorgeous black-haired teen. At the same time, they kissed their respective cheek while the brunette laughed.

"I'm glad you two are here too."

* * *

Once the sun had cleared the horizon they turned to find the twins had finally passed out. The Tachibana parents calmly decided to take the kids back up to the house while the boys all bid farewell to each other, but instead Rin and Haru offered their services. Haruka hefted the unconscious Ren onto his back and Rin took Ran in his arms. Makoto found himself grinning at the sight- like the two were proud parents- and he gestured for Nagisa and Rei to wait where they were.

"We'll be back down in a few minutes."

* * *

The twins bedded down, the threesome returned to the bottom of the hill. After some small talk the first-years realized it was high time to leave.

"Bye Mako-chan, Haru-chan, Rin-chan!"

The blonde was hopping up and down and waving both arms, grinning, while Rei behind his boyfriend merely waved a hand once.

"We'll see you later!" Makoto called back, still smiling despite his sleepiness.

"Give our regards to Ran-chan and Ren-chan too, okay?"

"We will!"

"Oh! And-"

Rei had had enough and he grabbed the back of Nagisa's haori, dragging the energetic first-year away.  
"Byyyyye!" Came the echo.

Makoto chuckled softly, shaking his head, and Rin caught his sleeve.  
"Let's go, I'm about to pass out on these fucking stairs."

"Yeah. Let's go back." Haru whispered, nuzzling Makoto's neck.

"Should we go to Haru's?"

"Something wrong with my house, Rinrin?"

"I love your home and your family, Mako, and you know that. But your house doesn't have a big comfy bed that we can all fit in."

"Or Akiha."

"Or our cat."

Makoto chuckled. "You know we'd have to set an alarm to go back to my house before the twins wake up anyway, right?"

Haru and Rin considered each other for a moment, then shrugged in unison. "Fine."

* * *

The redheaded and black-haired teens continued on to Haru's home while Makoto stopped in at his own.  
Akiha was happy to see them, twining around their ankles and mewling, and Haru scooped her up while Rin headed straight up to the bedroom.  
Ten minutes later the pair was coiled together in the bed and that was where Makoto found them. He stripped to his boxers and slid in behind Haru, throwing an arm over both lithe bodies and burrowing in for rest.

"Please tell me one of you set an alarm." He mumbled after a few minutes of silence.

"Haru did," Rin slurred.

A quiet kitten-yawn from Akiha was the last sound in the room aside from the three's quiet breathing.

* * *

The early afternoon found the trio of weary teenagers stumbling down the stone stairs to be greeted by a pair of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed twins and their inexhaustible parents. Megumi came back from checking the mail with a large stack of New Year's cards and handed three to Makoto, Haruka, and Rin from-

"Gou?" Rin said, flipping the card back and forth.

"She knows where to find you," Makoto laughed.

"She wrote and drew them herself, too. I can tell." Haru said quietly, examining his closely.

"Yeah. She put a lot of work in, huh? That's our capable manager!"

Rin stared at his card for a moment longer then slowly lifted his head to smile at his lovers.  
"You know, I'm pretty sure this has been my best New Year's ever."

Makoto smiled back, leaning over and kissing the redhead. "It's been my happiest."

Haru molded himself to Rin's side with a quiet sigh. "Mine too."

The brunette wrapped an arm around both his boyfriends' shoulders. "I hope the whole year is like this."

* * *

It's rushed and I'm mad about it but *sighs* oh well. Still cute and fluffy. Happy New Years to everyone!  
~Raelinae~


End file.
